TopicGeneral / Injuries / Young extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a first-i

By jingqi86 Date 2012-09-06 2:13 AM

On December 18, the Montreal Canadiens left for Boston with a six game road trip ahead of them. Andy Dalton Jersey . Mostly people who followed the club agreed that the team desperately needed some time away from the city. The Habs had just lost their first game under interim coach Randy Cunneyworth and they were hoping to come together on the road, as well as use the trip as a turning point for the season. Things clearly didnt work out. The Canadiens lost five of six on that trip and have dug themselves a cavernous hole in the standings. They sit in 13th in the East and trail eighth place New Jersey by nine points. The keys to making up ground in the East are threefold. 1. The Habs need to rattle off a series of victories. 2. They must beat teams in regulation, as they cannot afford to have Eastern rivals pick up points in a loss. 3. Montreal will need help from other teams. The good news is the Canadiens play five of their next six games at home and wont have to worry about being away from their families, sleeping in hotel beds and dealing with opposing fans. The bad news is that the Habs have won only five of 18 at the Bell Centre this year. Tonight, the Canadiens host the Winnipeg Jets for the third time this season. Montreal beat Winnipeg 5-1 in their home opener, but the Jets bounced back a few weeks ago in Winnipeg and shutout the Habs 4-0. The Canadiens had an optional skate this morning and all the regulars were there minus Michael Cammalleri and Tomas Kaberle. After the skate, head coach Randy Cunneyworth said he told his players to be ready to play tonight. The coach did not divulge his lineup saying every player is a game-time decision. All we do know is that Carey Price will be in goal for the Habs. You can follow me on Twitter @tonymarinaro. Sebastian Janikowski Jersey .C. - Matt Keith was not about to show Adirondack Phantoms goaltender Johan Backlund any mercy. Kenny Britt Jersey . Bowditch, playing in intermittent afternoon rain, birdied the 17th and 18th holes after a bogey on No. 16 at the Hyatt Regency resort course. Choi, who plays on the OneAsia tour and has no wins in a four-year pro career, had a chip-in from 90 metres for eagle on the 16th hole. Watson and Australians Andre Stolz, Aaron Townsend and Aaron Baddeley had 67s, while Wu Kangchun of China was in a large group with 68s. Von Miller Jersey . He heads into his first game since he was named interim head coach, replacing the fired Charlie Taaffe, convinced he can take his 2-8 team to the playoffs for the first time in five years. Tom Brady Jersey . NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced Monday that the league has reached a preliminary agreement to sell the team to a group headed by former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison. Josh Cribbs Jersey . Ukraines team spokesman says the players health was improving after they were placed on a special diet to help them shake off the sickness, the cause of which has not been established. ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Rangers offence had been feeling the absence of reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton. Texas lost six of eight since the reigning AL MVP broke his right shoulder on April 12, keeping him out as long as two months. The Rangers regained their home run stroke on Friday night with the help of a brisk wind blowing out to right field, going deep five times in an 11-5 win over the Kansas City Royals. Mike Napoli, Ian Kinsler, David Murphy, Adrian Beltre and Mitch Moreland all homered. "We still believe we have a great lineup," Napoli said. "It was a tough situation with Ham going down, but we all believe we can put up runs every night. We struggled a little bit, but were not panicking." Kinslers two-out solo shot in the fourth put the Rangers ahead for good after the Royals tied it with five runs in the top half. Murphys two-run blast in the fifth made it 8-5, and Beltre went deep with the bases empty in the sixth to give Texas a four-run cushion. Moreland added a two-run homer in the seventh to complete the long-ball barrage. "We did a good job of just keeping it in the big part of the field," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "By doing that, we were able to centre some balls and do some good things." Texas starter Derek Holland (3-1) struck out nine and gave up five runs and seven hits over seven innings. Kansas City starter Jeff Francis (0-2), a Delta, B.C. native who was knocked around for six runs -- five earned-- and nine hits in four-plus innings. Michael Young, Kinsler and Beltre all had three hits for Texas. The Royals offence simply couldnt keep pace "They were much more proficient at utilizing the jet stream than we were," Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. "They actually hit a couple of good pitches. We just got a couple up. Theyre a tremendous fly ball-hitting team with a lot of pop, a lot of power." Brayan Pena homered for the Royals, whove dropped four of six. Young extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a first-inning RBBI single. Ryan Mathews Jersey. In the third, Youngs run-scoring triple off the centre field wall, Beltres RBI double, and Napolis two-run shot made it 5-0. The Royals answered with their five-run fourth highlighted by Penas three-run blast. Also in the fourth, Jeff Francoeur extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI double, and Wilson Betemit stretched his streak to 13 games with a run-scoring single. Holland responded with three scoreless innings while his teammates provided more offence. "Once thats over, you dont sit and dwell on it," Holland said. "You move on and keep your team in it." Kansas City threatened in the third with runners on first and third and one out. Melky Cabrera hit a grounder to second, and Kinsler threw to second to force Chris Getz. The relay to first by shortstop Elvis Andrus was wild, but Cabrera was called out because Getz veered out of the baseline while sliding into Andrus in an attempt to break up the double play. Notes: A postgame fireworks show was cancelled by City of Arlington officials because of the wind. ... Kansas Citys Alex Gordon pushed his career-best hitting streak to 16 games with an infield single in the fourth. ... RHP Brandon Webb will report to the Rangers spring training facility in Surprise, Ariz. on Saturday to continue his rehab from right rotator cuff surgery. Webb will throw two innings (with a 35-pitch limit) in an extended spring training game on Monday. Texas RHP Scott Feldman will work two innings in an extended spring game on Saturday, and RHP Tommy Hunter will throw Rangers batting practice on Monday. All three are on the 15-day DL. ... Francoeur and C Matt Treanor received their AL championship rings from Washington on the field prior to the game. "Francoeur brought a lot of energy, kept the bench loose, and when he got out there against left-handers he produced," Washington said. "Matt was certainly an integral part of our club. They did a lot for us and right now theyre doing a lot for Kansas City." ' ' '

TopicGeneral / Injuries / Young extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a first-i